PUNJAB POLICE BUSTS CROSS-BORDER DRUG AND WEAPON SMUGGLING CARTEL; KINGPIN AMONG 12 HELD
CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, January 3: In a major breakthrough, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a cross-border drug and weapon smuggling cartel. This action is part of the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state. Twelve persons, including the kingpin, were arrested. The kingpin, identified as Manjeet Singh alias Bhola of village Jhanjoti in Ajnala, was among those detained.
4o mini Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav announced this on Friday.
Police have identified 11 arrested individuals.
The other 11 arrested persons have been identified. They include Aniket Verma of Cheharta. Jobanpreet Singh, also known as Joban, is from Cheharta. Babli is from Naraingarh in Cheharta. Harpreet Singh, also called Happy, is from Guru Ki Wadali. Others include Amritpal Singh Alias Ansh of Naraingarh in Cheharta and Reshma of Kartar Nagar in Cheharta. Harshpreet Singh, also known as Harman and Hamma, comes from village Thanda in Amritsar. Mandeep Singh, also known as Kaushal and Joshi, hails from village Fatehpur in Amritsar. Gurpreet Singh, also called Gopi, is from village Fatehpur. Lovepreet Singh, known as Jashan, also comes from village Fatehpur. Akashdeep Singh, known as Arsh, is from Cheharta.
Police teams have recovered 2.19 Kg Heroin, three sophisticated pistols including two automatic and Rs 2.60 lakh drug money from their possession, besides, impounding their Toyota Fortuner car.
Drug Smuggler Manjeet Singh in Contact with Pakistan-based Operatives
DGP Gaurav Yadav said that accused Manjeet alias Bhola is a key player. He was in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers and handlers. Manjeet was receiving consignments of drugs and weapons from across the border. Consignments were dropped at Ramdas and Ajnala border sectors using drones, he said.
The DGP said that further investigations are on to establish forward and backward linkages in this case.
“Drug Smuggling Network Uncovered in Amritsar”
Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar shared more details while addressing a press conference.Police teams apprehended Aniket after receiving reliable input about his involvement in the drug smuggling business. The arrest of Aniket has unearthed the entire network. It led to the arrest of kingpin Manjeet alias Bhola and all his accomplices from different locations. He added that they have arrested five of the accused persons from Jammu and Kashmir.
J&K Police made the arrests.
Investigations reveal Babli’s house used for storing consignments
The CP said that investigations have revealed new details. Accused Manjeet alias Bhola used the house of arrested woman Babli to store the consignments. Babli, an Anganwari worker, unwittingly became involved. Manjeet also used his accomplices for further distribution. Further investigations are ongoing to uncover the entire network and more arrests and recoveries are likely in coming days.
“FIR No. 226/2024 Registered Under NDPS Act at Chheharta Police Station”
The police registered FIR no. 226, dated 24.12.2024, under sections 21(B), (C)/27-A, and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Chheharta in Amritsar.
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